Pure Evil

Marilyn Pure Joy Oxblood 3 Color Silkscreen Print by Pure Evil Hand-Pulled on Deckled 300gsm Somerset Fine Art Paper Limited Edition Screenprint Artwork. 2025 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of TBD Artwork Size 16x20 Silkscreen Print of Hollywood Actress, Marilyn Monroe Stylized in Aqua Pink Oxblood. Marilyn Pure Joy Oxblood by Pure Evil in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork Marilyn Pure Joy Oxblood is a bold 2025 limited edition silkscreen by Charles Uzzell-Edwards, widely recognized in contemporary art as Pure Evil. Printed in three colors and hand-pulled on 300gsm Somerset fine art paper with a deckled edge, this work measures 16 by 20 inches and continues the artist’s ongoing portrait series that pays homage to historic icons through the lens of modern subversion. Marilyn Monroe, arguably one of the most recognizable faces in pop culture history, is depicted here in high-contrast oxblood pink and white, with icy highlights and Pure Evil’s signature teardrop motif bleeding downward in stark visual contrast. The color palette used here transforms Monroe from nostalgic relic to striking subject of introspective commentary, revealing how fame and fragility coexist. Recontextualizing Icons in the Street Pop Art Tradition The piece draws upon the language of both traditional pop art and the coded signals of street art, combining high fashion aesthetics with raw commentary. Pure Evil uses silkscreen printing in the same spirit as Andy Warhol but pivots into darker emotional territory by introducing the black teardrop, a motif he has explored throughout his career. The teardrop is not only a stylistic mark but a narrative device, suggesting a sense of mourning for innocence lost or a critique of how fame consumes individuality. By situating Monroe in a saturated oxblood tone, the print emphasizes drama, sensuality, and emotional intensity, adding new depth to a figure often idealized and flattened by commercial culture. The Role of Color and Print Technique in Emotional Impact The oxblood palette plays a central role in how this version of the Pure Joy series communicates urgency and sorrow. It deviates from the traditional warm Hollywood palettes typically used to represent Monroe. The deep red suggests passion, obsession, or even violence in its undertone. Set against sharp white fields and shadowed detailing, the silhouette of Monroe becomes even more haunting. Silkscreen printing, with its defined edges and clean layering, reinforces the duality between aesthetic control and emotional chaos. The deckled edge of the Somerset paper adds a tactile, physical quality that grounds the artwork, bridging its gallery-worthy presence with its roots in stencil-based urban practices. Pure Evil’s Commentary Through Celebrity Portraiture Pure Evil’s reinterpretation of Monroe is more than a pop cultural remix. It is a quiet indictment of how beauty, iconography, and emotional exploitation are packaged in mass media. Monroe’s image, once framed in soft glamour, now stares from this work with a complex tension between allure and trauma. The oxblood tone gives voice to her human vulnerability without removing her symbolic power. Charles Uzzell-Edwards, operating under the name Pure Evil, has developed a recognizable style that merges graffiti mark-making with screenprint precision. Through the Marilyn Pure Joy Oxblood edition, he contributes to a broader conversation within street pop art and graffiti artwork that challenges viewers to reconsider what lies behind the celebrity image and to reckon with its costs.

Read more less

Marilyn Pure Joy Aqua 3 Color Silkscreen Print by Pure Evil Hand-Pulled on Deckled 300gsm Somerset Fine Art Paper Limited Edition Screenprint Artwork. 2025 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of TBD Artwork Size 16x20 Silkscreen Print of Hollywood Actress, Marilyn Monroe Stylized in Aqua Blue. Marilyn Pure Joy Aqua by Pure Evil as Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork Marilyn Pure Joy Aqua is a 2025 limited edition silkscreen print created by the British street pop art and graffiti artwork figure Pure Evil, whose real name is Charles Uzzell-Edwards. This piece is rendered in a vivid aqua blue palette using three silkscreen layers and hand-pulled on 300gsm Somerset fine art paper with deckled edges. Measuring 16 x 20 inches, the print is part of a series featuring iconic Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. The artwork’s bold use of flat color, high contrast, and Pure Evil’s signature tear motif reflects a deliberate synthesis of celebrity iconography with themes of loss and emotional weight. The tear streak, thick and black, drops from one of Monroe’s eyes and drips downward, bisecting the otherwise glamorous portrait. This tear motif, consistent across much of the artist’s portrait series, plays a crucial role in transforming popular imagery into emotionally charged commentary. The Cultural Significance of Marilyn Monroe Reimagined This piece anchors Marilyn Monroe not as a static figure of 1950s beauty but as a perpetually relevant cultural symbol. In Pure Evil’s reinterpretation, Monroe becomes a vessel for reflection on fame’s isolating and often devastating effects. Her image, one of the most recognizable in modern history, is stripped of its cinematic polish and reframed within a graffiti-informed aesthetic. The use of aqua blue softens the portrait but simultaneously creates an eerie vibrancy. The image no longer belongs solely to nostalgic Hollywood; it now inhabits the visual landscape of protest art, paste-ups, and gallery walls rooted in contemporary street culture. This transformation is central to how Monroe’s legacy continues to be shaped by new generations of visual artists. The Mechanics of Street Pop Aesthetics Street pop art and graffiti artwork thrive on remixing public iconography. By using silkscreen methods traditionally associated with fine art while keeping visual language rooted in urban subversion, Pure Evil blurs the boundaries between commercial symbolism and raw expression. The choice of Somerset paper, known for its premium archival quality, speaks to the artist’s dual engagement with both fine art collectors and anti-establishment sentiment. The flat fields of aqua blue give a sense of uniformity, but the hand-pulled nature ensures that each print carries unique qualities. This intersection of process and message allows the viewer to engage with the familiar image of Monroe in a deeper, more personal way. Pure Evil’s Emotional Language Through Color and Form In Marilyn Pure Joy Aqua, emotion is conveyed through contrast and subtraction. The simplicity of color selection—a stark blue and white backdrop, with shadows articulated in rich blacks—focuses attention on the emotional gravity of the piece. The tear that falls from Monroe’s eye acts not as an embellishment but as a core component of the narrative. It suggests unresolved sorrow, the exploitation of beauty, and the fading line between admiration and objectification. Through this silkscreen edition, Pure Evil uses Monroe’s face as both icon and canvas, achieving a work that is both reflective and provocative. The piece stands as a testament to the continuing dialogue between pop culture and street expression, and how graffiti-rooted techniques can recast even the most familiar subjects into powerful vehicles of introspection.

Read more less

Marilyn Pure Joy Yellow 3 Color Silkscreen Print by Pure Evil Hand-Pulled on Deckled 300gsm Somerset Fine Art Paper Limited Edition Screenprint Artwork. 2025 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of TBD Artwork Size 16x20 Silkscreen Print of Hollywood Actress, Marilyn Monroe Stylized in Black & Yellow. Marilyn Pure Joy Yellow by Pure Evil as Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork Marilyn Pure Joy Yellow is a hand-pulled 3 color silkscreen print created by the London-based artist Pure Evil, born Charles Uzzell-Edwards. Printed on 300gsm deckled Somerset fine art paper, the 2025 signed and numbered edition captures the essence of both pop culture iconography and emotional minimalism through a unique lens of urban commentary. Sized at 16 x 20 inches, the artwork features a stylized portrayal of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe rendered in stark black and soft yellow tones, layered with Pure Evil’s trademark tear motif—a thick black streak cascading from one eye, cutting vertically across the paper. This striking visual device has become a hallmark of the artist’s practice and is a powerful form of commentary within street pop art and graffiti artwork. The Pop Icon Reimagined Through a Graffiti Lens Pure Evil recontextualizes Monroe, not as a flawless screen goddess, but as a fractured symbol of glamour and vulnerability. Rather than focusing on realism, the portrait embraces stylization and abstraction that allows the subject’s mythos to be reinterpreted. The yellow accents in the hair evoke mid-century beauty culture, but the stark monochrome contrasts emphasize a sense of loss or distortion. It is not simply a celebration of fame; it is a meditation on its cost. The vertical black tear, recurring across Pure Evil’s works, is not decorative. It evokes themes of trauma, impermanence, and identity loss associated with celebrity worship. By blending graffiti aesthetics with pop culture subjects, this work destabilizes nostalgia and forces reconsideration of public memory. Fine Art Materials with Street-Driven Intent Though grounded in the lineage of street art, this silkscreen is printed using fine art techniques and materials. The 300gsm Somerset paper and hand-deckled edges signal the artist’s fluency with the gallery system, while maintaining visual cues from urban environments. The bold contour lines, the stencil-like application, and the saturated palette are grounded in graffiti’s graphic sensibility. Each print is hand-pulled, which introduces a subtle variation and authenticity to every edition. This craftsmanship affirms that even though the imagery is rooted in mass-produced iconography, the execution is deeply intentional and personal. Emotional Simplicity and Symbolism in Contemporary Urban Art Pure Evil’s Marilyn Pure Joy Yellow connects to a broader contemporary conversation about the emotional undercurrents of iconography in street pop art and graffiti artwork. The emotional core is heightened by its formal restraint—limited colors, bold geometry, and the solitary symbolic gesture of the tear. In an era saturated with digital images, this piece slows the viewer down. It invites reflection on why we idolize and what we ignore. Through this piece, Pure Evil extends a conversation about fame, fragility, and the psychological fallout that so often accompanies cultural elevation. As both an homage and a critique, the work serves as a compelling example of how street culture can infiltrate and elevate high art discourse without abandoning its rebellious roots.

Read more less